Tuesday, December 17, 2013

THS ROTC Students Shop for Christmas Bureau

Led by Topeka High School ROTC instructors Chief Warrant
Officer Gunner Kelley and Sgt. Major Lewallen, a group of the school’s ROTC
students headed to Walmart on Tuesday to shop for families in need. The
Christmas Bureau supplied a list of 75 families who had not yet been adopted
and United Way donated a $30 gift card for each family member in all of those
families. The students also adopted six families to shop for with money they
raised themselves by working at Worlds of Fun.

Hunter Hodges, a junior at THS, says “I love shopping for
other people, helping people through the holidays. I love it.” Dalton
Breitkreutz, a sophomore, agreed. “I think it’s a great thing we’re doing. A
lot of families don’t have money…to get what they want or need. I think this is
just a great way to help out the community and reach out.”

But according to Kelley and Lewallen, the families being
shopped for aren’t the only ones who benefit from this experience. “It teaches
the kids three things: the value of a dollar, how to budget, and most
important, is (it teaches) decision-making skills.” The students will also be
assisting in the delivery of the gifts, which will all be distributed by early
next week.

The next project for the ROTC students will be a food drive
this Saturday at HyVee on Wanamaker from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Their goal is
to collect 4 tons of food in one day. If you’re out and about, please stop by
and help these generous students reach their goal!